Luang Probang in 10 pictures.

Gail and Pete came to join us in Luang Probang and plan to travel with us through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia for the next 4 weeks if they don't get sick of us.
Since Gail and Peter have been with us, all that  time we once had writing blog posts, downloading/uploading photos, sorting through washing, doing schoolwork, doing our daily pilates routine, organising onward transport and accommodation and going to bed early has disappeared and our days are now crammed with adventure and laughter.
www.ancientluangprabang.com/contact.html

So, as a result there is no blog of our wonderful week in Luang Probang other than the photos hereafter...
It really was unreal but I just can't write it all.

Meeting Mr and Mrs Noisy Bottom at Luang Probang Airport



Wat Xieng Thong 



Beer Lao $1.25 per big bottle



Our day bike riding around Luang Probang



Rickety bridge over the Mae Kok River



Monk along the garden path



Waiting. Waiting.



Some market produce



Flat tyre on the tuk tuk



Buying birds to release from the top of Mount Phousi



Releasing birds at the top of Mount Phousi

The elephants get their own 10 photos



Our elephant adventure in Luang Probang was incredible.
We got to wash the elephants in the Mekong River.
Even though I was sick for 4 days after, it was still worth it!

eleven

A good waterfall bath after washing the elephants in the Mekong.

 Thanks for the tip Andrea



Leaving Luangers to fly to Hanoi

BlissfulLee

Lao Monks.

Every Lao Buddhist male is expected to become a monk at some point in his life, usually prior to marriage, after school, or in old age. Unlike Sri Lanka, where becoming a monk is permanent and leaving is frowned upon, it’s perfectly acceptable for Lao males to be ordained for only a few months. Having a monk amongst the family is looked upon very favorably. Lao Buddhist monks adhere to 10 vows, including prohibitions against stealing, lying, imbibing alcohol, sexual relations, eating in the afternoon, listening to music, dancing, wearing jewelry or perfumes, sleeping in high beds, accepting money for personal use and killing.

One edict of monkhood is to become detached from the world and worldly possessions, so during ordination, monks rely on the generosity of people for their food and clothing. Early every morning, and especially during festivals, the Lao can be seen lining up along the street side to proffer food to the monks. It is believed that this generosity will generate good karma that carries over into the next life. The food gathered during the morning serves as the only nourishment for monks of the day.

from:  www.gechogo.com

We were up at 5:30am at Luang Probang to find our place and set up our alms for the Monks.

We gave sticky rice and fish balls to the monks.

There are more than 20 Temples in Luang Probang so there were many Monks to feed

Slow Boat down The Mekong.

The Mekong River stretches 4500 kilometres from China through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam spilling into the South China Sea at the Mekong Delta. Our journey covered a distance of 335 kilometres meandering downstream.

We boarded our long boat in Houi Xai on the Lao side of the river after spending the night in Chiang Khong on the Thai side. The process of crossing the border / river was a series of stops and starts handled entirely by our ‘in the know’ cruise boat operator Mr Adisak. We had concerns about this part of our journey with the high risk of Malaria in the area, local conflict over border issues, what type of a boat we would be on and our safety during the trip down the river.

All our worries turned out to be unjustified as every step of the way was as easy as life on the Mekong.

The boat company we chose was certainly not the most expensive 'Luang Say' nor the cheap and very nasty speed boats. We decided to go on the Nagi of Mekong and we were absolutely delighted with the boat, the scenery, the stopovers and the people who shared our two day cruise.

www.nagiofmekong.com

Gold panning along the Mekong

Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world and has the gentlest and most unhurried people we have met. Their simple way of living highlights how happiness is worth so much more than belongings. Our first day included a stop at a small village perched along the high water bank. (We are travelling in the dry season and the river level is 10 metres lower now) The women, young and old, spend their days panning for specks of gold in the sandy river banks. They never get more than tiny flecks but they will crouch there in the ankle deep water for all the scorching hot hours of the day. The men walk inland to farm for rice and vegetables and the children travel downstream to a small school. Left in the village were the old men with the babies and toddlers. The low level people who live this basic life earn about $2- a day. At each of the little villages we stopped at, the girls had brought small toys, clothes and gifts that they didn’t use or fit anymore. The faces of the children lit up when they were given toy rabbits in baskets from Madison and preloved surf tee-shirts from Charlotte.

At one village the women were selling
hand woven silk scarves,                    

we bought a couple from a girl and stayed to play

hoola hoop with the younger ones.

Paul handed out Chuppa Chups which they were

extremely happy to have but after a few minutes

Charlotte noticed they had no idea what to do

First ever Chuppa Chup

with them.
Paul opened one for a girl and
motioned the licking action.

She was hesitant at first but

it never takes long for that

sweet sugar hit to take

hold and a lovely smile

spread across her face.

Grandpa daycare

Our midway stop at Pak Beng provided simple accommodation and a chance to walk around and enjoy a local meal with our new travelling friends, sharing stories and Beer Lao. We were all up early the next morning and walked up and down the only street in the dark, watching the people prepare for their day. The darkness gave way to a cold mist and we boarded the boat again at 7.30am. The first hour was eerie and cold in the surrounding mist. By 9am the sun broke through and we continued down the mystical Mekong.



We enjoyed a few more village stops and then about 10 kilometres before arriving at Luang Probang we stopped at the Pak Ou Buddha Caves which is a must for all Buddhists visiting Laos. The cave temple has been visited by Buddhist for the last two thousand years and houses a vast number of Buddha statues.

We all had such a wonderful two days on the Mekong. It was a lovely way to travel and every part of the journey was an amazing eye opening adventure. 

Our arrival at Luang Probang

MeanderingLee

An Elephant Experience.

It was the most amazing and adventurous day yet. We went on an elephant day which included a lot of different things to do with elephants.

From Chiang Mai we took a minvan further up into the mountains. We stopped by a river and could see a group of elephants on the other side. The only way over was to cross a rickety old bamboo bridge.

We had time to meet the elephants and we could go right up to them and touch them and play with them. It was unbelievable that we were so close to these enormous creatures.

Dad and Maisy were put on the biggest elephant. Mum and I were on a lovely lady called Noi Noi. There was a baby elephant with our group and it was so cute.

We walked slowly along a river and a little way into the jungle. The mahout leading our elephant said I could sit on the elephants neck with him. The hairs were so prickly but it was unreal.

We had lunch on the other side of the river watching the elephants. The little baby kept being naughty and trying to walk away from his mother, the mahouts would go crazy after him and sometimes use slingshots to hit him on the side.

In the afternoon the elephants put on an amazing show for us. There were around 10 elephants, and they all walked in to the area where they were performing. Two of the elephants were holding up a welcome sign for us using there tusks and their trunks. They then showed us how they bowed. They were very good at bowing, then they showed us how to dance to music, and they really got into it. One of them wrapped his trunk around his tusks and swung his head around in circles like a mad thing, whilst shaking his foot.

  Next it was time for a bit of sport so they played soccer and basketball. A male elephant played soccer, and he was surprisingly good. He held onto the ball with his trunk, and would toss it over his head and kick it with his back foot straight into the goal. They even had a goalie elephant, but he got hungry for bananas, and wandered off. Because I don’t really enjoy basketball, the basketball wasn’t that amazing, but it was still really clever what they did.

 Then the elephant mahouts, did some tricks for us. They showed us all the different ways to get up onto the elephants, the elephants could lift the mahouts up with their trunks. Elephants are sooooooooo strong. The little elephants could put hats on the mahouts. It was so cute.
The most amazing thing happened next. They lady who ran the show told us that a 5 year old girl elephant called Suda was going to paint for us. We had seen on TV before elephants painting, and they only did a couple of random splashes of paint. So that is what we expected. But it was nothing at all like that!

Suda started to paint a picture at an easel, and at first it only looked like a scribble. Then she added more and more detail. Each stroke added to make a perfect looking elephant holding flowers. She even included a tail and a trunk and then incredibly she signed her name across the top. Suda. The painting was really really awesome.

Dad was just as impressed and he had to buy it. I think he is missing the car auctions because he jumped up to bid on it.

One day it will be hanging in our lounge room and no-one will believe an elephant actually painted it with her trunk.

It was the best day so far.

By Charlotte